So Long, Farewell
by Wijida
Summary: Sara's off for Reno...Grissom's married... **No inhuman cruelty- but it's not a happy-Sara story*. A bit of 'Grissom, get a clue'.


 **Disclaimer**: CSI belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS...

So Long, Farewell

By Manda

            She came to him in the late hours of shift, early morning when the sun peered through the window blinds of most offices, although as she approached it, Grissom's remained dark.  He never was comfortable with the light, and in this case, neither was she, preferring to remain away from the spotlight until her objective had been carried out.

            In her hand, she held a thin manila envelope, its contents rustling softly as her fingers crinkled the outside edges in their tight grip.  Grissom had been busy for the entire shift, and she'd managed to stay away from him with the particulars of her own case, leaving no time for idle chit-chat or concerned questioning.  There had been enough of that from Nick and Warrick, the members of her own elite crime solving team, as they had investigated a murder at one of many nearby casinos.  Catherine had Grissom all to herself, and as Sara Sidle made her way toward the office of the nightshift supervisor, she silently acknowledged that there really was no other way for it to be.

            Sliding through the partially opened doorway, she stepped easily across the tiled floor, holding her breath. If he didn't see her...But he saw her, as the linoleum creaked, and his blue eyes turned up from a magazine advertising Racing Roaches, propped up upon an old coffee can.  A mug of steaming coffee sat to his right, and to his left was a framed photograph, turned away so that she couldn't see it.  But she knew what she would see.  Clustered around a 'Sold' real-estate sign, smiling faces and one covered in peanut-butter-and-jelly. Grissom and his new wife, hands holding on to each other, and grasped onto the delicate shoulders of Lindsey Willows, as her mother, Catherine, stared lovingly across and into Grissom's eyes. 

            "Can I help you, Sara?" She didn't move, didn't stretch her fingers or clutch the folder any tighter as the silence grew, and Grissom spoke again. "Sara?"

            "I'm sorry...I didn't want to bother you."

            "You're not." He replied simply, and as he dropped the magazine, the glint of his wedding ring caught her eye from beneath the gentle glow of his desk lamp. The only light in the room, reminding her of the fact she had tried to hard to deny for so long. "What's wrong?"

            "I...have my resignation for you." It all sounded so dry, so abrupt, after she'd stood at home before her bedroom mirror for hours, rehearsing just how and when she would tell him the news she'd been wanting not to say. And the look in his eyes, the look she'd once believed meant affection for her...she now saw clearly that it was sympathy, curiosity... 

            "Resignation....?" She stepped into the light, and as she did, his eyes grew wider, coasting down from where they met her gaze to the slight rounding of her stomach, evident by the flow of her white blouse over the swell. "Sara...why didn't you tell me?"

            "When? Grissom...it's been like this for month, and you're telling me you haven't noticed?" She tossed the folder upon his desk and crossed her arms, indignant. "I was out for two weeks last month...throwing up every morning, Hank holding my head up from the rim of the toilet.  You got married, Grissom...you know enough about women by now to have recognized it, if you'd paid attention to anything other than your new wife."

            "Sara." He sounded prepared to warn her, but perhaps the pregnancy made him consider otherwise, as his expression softened, and his eyes drifted to the photograph. "How long are you planning on being away?"

            "_Resignation_, Grissom...not leave.  Hank and I...we're moving to Reno.  He's got an aunt, I've got cousins...they're going to help me raise the baby while I look for another job.  Being a CSI...I don't think I can do it the way Catherine did...and now she's got you to help her."

            "Catherine always did fine on her own, Sara...and so could you."

            "No...No, Grissom, I don't think I can." She spun on her heels, headed for the door, and glanced over her shoulder at her former supervisor, who now held the envelope in his hands, staring at it. "Take good care of her, Grissom...take care of both of them."

            "Yeah...I will. Good luck, Sara." And she was gone, Grissom slipping her resignation into a box on his desk labelled 'in'. As he did so, the door slipped open further, and the familiar clicking of heels alerted him to the presence of the one woman in his life whose resignation he would never recieve.  Blond hair cascading over slender shoulders, black blouse and gray slacks blending in with the ambient colors of the darkened room. But her eyes...azure blue caught the light as he turned a switch and flooded the room with illumination. 

            "What's with Sara?" Catherine Willows-Grissom slipped easily onto the corner of her husband's desk, running her fingers playfully through his salt-and-pepper hair, lingering around his left ear before leaning forward to gently kiss his cheek. "She looked like she was in a hurry."

            "Packing. She and Hank are headed to Reno."

            "Ahh, Reno...Nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there."

            "Oh?" He glanced at her casually, arching his brow. "Why not?"

            "Because if I did...I wouldn't have you." She winked, and kissed him, before dismounting from the desk and moving to flop easily onto the leather couch that sat against the wall. "When you're done...Lindsey's at my sister's for the weekend...and we could order in Chinese." 

            "Sounds fine. What are we having for desert?" He stood and rounded the desk, eyes only briefly lingering on the doorway through which Sara had left...and would never come back. 

            "Something you've had before...and something I think you like." He hit the light as he crossed the room, and she met him halfway, rising up on her toes to meet his kiss, and in the faint illumination from his still glowing desk lamp, she could see the attraction in his eyes. 

            And the figure peering through the window blinds disappeared into the bright sunlight.

-End


End file.
